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Senior paralegal skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Shelly Grunsted,

Emily Allen-Hornblower

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical senior paralegal skills. We ranked the top skills for senior paralegals based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 13.3% of senior paralegal resumes contained legal research as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a senior paralegal needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 senior paralegal skills for your resume and career

1. Legal Research

Here's how senior paralegals use legal research:

Conducted client interviews, document analysis, estate analysis, legal research, document management and execution of estate planning documents.
Research Responsibilities Performed legal research utilizing a variety of search engines; Conducted Lawson database inquiries to gather relevant employee information

2. Litigation

Here's how senior paralegals use litigation:

Worked as Senior Paralegal assisting attorneys in the preparation of pleadings, discovery and related documents in commercial and consumer litigation.
Handled all corporate matters including annual shareholder documentation and shareholder meetings, prepared contracts and coordinated execution, and provided litigation support

3. Law Firm

Here's how senior paralegals use law firm:

Teamed with foreign law firms to successfully file and prosecute trademark applications and renew existing registrations.
Provided excellent customer service and selling credit repair services for Lexington Law Firm

4. Subpoenas

Subpoenas are formal and legal documents issued mostly by a court or some other government agency that demands the presence of the person the document is addressed to, to show up at court. Subpoenas are issued to individuals whom the court wants to appear either as a witness in a particular case in order to testify or to provide any evidence such as an object or a document.

Here's how senior paralegals use subpoenas:

Prepared deposition subpoenas and notice-to-consumer.
Determined informational dimensions of subpoenas, as well as, jurisdictional validity of various legal matters served on Citibank Private Bank.

5. PowerPoint

Here's how senior paralegals use powerpoint:

Prepared and executed PowerPoint presentations incorporating video clips of deposition testimony for use during trial and arbitration proceedings.
Prepared and presented PowerPoint presentation on Administrative Mandamus to County Attorney Work Group.

6. Lexis

Here's how senior paralegals use lexis:

Researched Federal, DC, and State Codes, as well as, secondary authority using Lexis/Nexis and West Law.
Posted medical expert reports, Interrogatories and other legal documents on Lexis Nexis (File and Serve).

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7. Real Estate

Real estate is land that has buildings on it. This kind of property consists of permanent improvements either natural or man-made, which include, houses, fences, bridges, water trees, and minerals. There are 4 types of real estate namely; residential real estate, commercial real estate, industrial real estate, and vacant land.

Here's how senior paralegals use real estate:

Performed diversified legal and financial functions for this developer of computer software applications for the real estate industry.
Performed market research of local and national real estate markets for strategic positioning of foreclosure defense division.

8. Intellectual Property

Intellectual properties refer to individuals' intangible or non-physical wealth, which results from their imaginations and intellect.

Here's how senior paralegals use intellectual property:

Assisted in spin-off of company from parent company Cardinal Health by assessing and reorganizing records related to all intellectual property assets.
Worked on Intellectual Property litigation including claims of Patent and Copyright infringement and Misappropriation of Trade Secrets involving high technology companies.

9. Trial Preparation

Trial preparation is the practice of gathering sufficient raw material for a court case. This preparation is done to make the bases of a case stronger by bringing the facts to light in a way that will give the concerned law bodies a better comprehension of the entire scenario. The method for preparing for a case may differ depending upon its nature.

Here's how senior paralegals use trial preparation:

Assist attorneys with trial preparation, summarizing depositions transcripts, interviewing witnesses, preparation of legal correspondence, pleadings and discovery.
Assist with trial preparation, including meticulous review of confidential and non-confidential documents for identification and review of trial exhibits.

10. Excellent Organizational

Here's how senior paralegals use excellent organizational:

Required excellent organizational and teamwork skills, a high level of accuracy, attention to detail, and proofreading skills.
Worked with attorneys on assignments that require sharp attention to detail and excellent organizational skills.

11. Legal Issues

Here's how senior paralegals use legal issues:

Advised business clients in incubation and established product areas in developing and implementing business plans and resolving business related legal issues.
Research and analyze legal issues requiring the utmost direction for an asset-based finance company specializing in structured settlement annuity transfers.

12. Due Diligence

Due diligence refers to the process of auditing, investigating, or reviewing done to confirm the authenticity of relevant facts. In addition to this, it also refers to the evaluation of a party's financial records to determine whether one should enter into a transaction with the said party or not.

Here's how senior paralegals use due diligence:

Handled due diligence review and analysis for equity/debt offerings and merger/acquisition transactions, involving public and private companies.
Participated and supported teams conducting due diligence in asset and business acquisition and other commercial transactions.

13. Paralegal Support

Here's how senior paralegals use paralegal support:

Provided paralegal support to family law attorneys from initial intake to post-judgment document preparation and filings.
Provided paralegal support in negotiating subsidiary acquisitions and divestitures, as well as asset acquisition agreements.

14. Legal Support

Here's how senior paralegals use legal support:

Provided corporate legal support for Motorola's Government Enterprise & Mobility Solutions business and the Networks Cellular infrastructure business.
Provided paraprofessional legal support to and administration of routine legal matters and projects.

15. Discovery Responses

Discovery response is the response made by a person on trial once discoveries are made against them. Certain motions are filed against a person on trial, which may include a request for interrogations, request for production, etc, and they have to file a response within some time. The official response is filed in court and its copies can be distributed to the other parties.

Here's how senior paralegals use discovery responses:

Assist counsel with management of litigation matters including docket management, interaction with outside counsel and discovery responses.
Conduct internal investigations, including identifying and interviewing fact witnesses, obtaining information for discovery responses, etc.

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What skills help Senior Paralegals find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on senior paralegal resumes?

Shelly Grunsted

Executive Director - Center for Student Success, Director, First Fidelity Integrated Business Core Program (IBC), Associate Professor, The University of Oklahoma

Depending on the job, but some that stand out: experiential learning experience, leadership skills, communication skills, problem-solving/analytical, internship experience, and collaboration efforts/group-work

What senior paralegal skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Emily Allen-Hornblower

Associate Professor of Classics, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

No question our economy has been hit hard, and the job market will be very competitive, for students in all courses of study but those who have solid training in the Humanities, along with the strong writing and communication skills that come with it, should do well. Good writers and critical thinkers are essential across the board, and those who have studied history, philosophy, oratory, and literature at its source (that is, the Classics) are well equipped to be competitive in any market.

What type of skills will young senior paralegals need?

Deirdre Kelly

Assistant Dean for Career Development, Western State College of Law

Young graduates will need the same traditional legal skills that they have always needed. Additionally, they will need to be resilient and creative to weather a more challenging and ever-evolving work environment. They will need to be very disciplined and able to work independently if they are working more remotely and have enough technical skills to navigate the virtual world. New graduates will need to think about how they build relationships with their co-workers and develop mentors, as well as develop clients and networks if the future means working remotely more and not as many in-person meetings.

Do you want to know more?

List of senior paralegal skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a senior paralegal resume and required skills for a senior paralegal to have include:

Legal Research
Litigation
Law Firm
Subpoenas
PowerPoint
Lexis
Real Estate
Intellectual Property
Trial Preparation
Excellent Organizational
Legal Issues
Due Diligence
Paralegal Support
Legal Support
Discovery Responses
Affidavits
Litigation Support

Legal Memoranda
HR
Pacer
Legal Articles
Interrogatories
Attorney Review
Securities
Non-Disclosure Agreements
Trial Support
Civil Litigation
Employment Law
UCC
Confidentiality Agreements
USPTO
Status Reports
Legal Assistants
PCT

Arbitration
Factual Research
Government Agencies
Commercial Litigation
Eeoc
Settlement Agreements
Demand Letters
Management System
Concordance
Trial Exhibits
Privilege Logs
Deposition Preparation
Trademark Applications
Probate
Conveyance

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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